Balderas is also returning 31 cases of potential campaign finance violations of state legislators and political action committees back to Duran’s office. Duran referred the 31 complaints to Balderas less than a week after he filed criminal charges against her in court.

Balderas notified Duran’s office of the change Tuesday afternoon.

“I am making this decision after careful consideration and even though I am confident that the [Office of the Attorney General] could otherwise handle the referrals competently and appropriately,” Balderas writes.

The Attorney General’s office typically represents state agencies in legal matters. Now Duran’s office will have to go elsewhere for counsel.

“Although not made lightly, I believe that the decision to discontinue our legal representation of the [Secretary of State] while the criminal proceedings are pending will facilitate the operations of both our offices,” Balderas writes.

Balderas notes that statute allows the Secretary of State to go to district attorneys for campaign violations and civil matters.

Duran’s office didn’t immediately respond to the letter when New Mexico Political Report contacted Chief of Staff Ken Ortiz Wednesday morning. We’ll update this post once they do.

Duran is facing 64 criminal counts revolving around charges that she transferred nearly $13,000 in her campaign coffers to her personal bank accounts. The charges also allege Duran withdrew hundreds of thousands of dollars from her personal bank accounts at several New Mexico casinos.

The U.S. Department of Defense listed military construction projects from across the world that could lose funding under a national emergency declaration by President Donald Trump. Included among those are projects at military facilities in New Mexico.

New Mexico Attorney General Hector Balderas and all fourteen of the state's district attorneys are asking Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham to veto a bill that would change laws governing probation and parole for criminal offenders. The prosecutors said in a letter Friday to the governor that the measure approved by the Legislature would jeopardize public safety.

Monday marked the first full day in the office not just for New Mexico Secretary of State Maggie Toulouse Oliver, but also for two new staffers. Toulouse Oliver was sworn in as Secretary of State late last week, about a month ahead of when she was originally scheduled to take office.

Joey Peters has been a journalist for nearly a decade. Most recently, his reporting in New Mexico on closed government policies earned several accolades. Peters has also worked as a reporter in Washington DC and the Twin Cities. Contact him by phone at (505) 226-3197.